October 17, 2016 - One Cool Cat

One Cool Cat Clouds of cold gas and dust, shown here in orange, stretch across the star-forming region NGC 6334, aka the “Cat’s Paw Nebula.” Overlaid onto infrared observations of the region, this was the “first light” data from the ArTeMiS camera on ESO’s 12-meter (472-in) Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope located in Chile. APEX senses the millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths light emitted by some of the coldest celestial objects. These wavelengths are absorbed by atmospheric water vapor, so to make observations like this, the observatory is situated at 5,050 meters (16,700 ft) in an extremely dry high desert. The Cat’s Paw Nebula is located 5,500 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius and is the birthplace of stars ten times more massive than our Sun.